


written in the stars

by katukostar



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:28:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25618873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katukostar/pseuds/katukostar
Summary: Soulmate AU with a star that shines bright for soulmates.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34
Collections: Zutara Week 2020





	written in the stars

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm @atlatrocity on twitter, and this is actually my first atla fanfic and one of my first fanfics in general. I used to write a lot when I was younger but I haven't really been writing much in the past few years so any feedback you may have is highly appreciated. I saw someone have this idea on twitter and I just had to write it.
> 
> This was originally going to be a one shot but the story kinda got longer as I was writing so I really can't say how many chapters this is going to be.
> 
> The idea came from @bookinateaspoom on twitter!

Katara loved to sit under the stars.

As a waterbender, the night has always been her friend. The moon shining above made her feel safe. It gave her a sort of comfort and energy that she felt nowhere else. She could lay under the blanket of the night sky and know that it would always protect her and that somewhere out there, there was something that always had her back.

_ “You rise with the moon.”  _ Zuko had said to her at the spirit oasis. And while true, her power  _ was _ drawn from the moon’s push and pull, Katara felt most at home amongst the stars. 

Growing up, she and her mother used to sit outside in the cold of the south pole just to see the night sky. Her mother would teach her constellations and the names of the bright stars that sprinkled above them. Staring at the stars her whole life, she always felt drawn to one that shined brighter than the rest. With an active imagination, she liked to imagine each star as an individual that had dreams and strengths just like everyone else. She pictured the bright star as a caring and brave individual. In a way, it inspired her. No matter how many others there were around it, it never failed to shine in its own way. Every night Katara would spot her star with her mother and they would be at home with each other until they went to sleep. 

After her mother’s death, however, Katara could never look at the sky the same. It was nothing more than a painful reminder of what she had lost. She never let go of her necklace, it was a reminder that she would always be with her, but it just wasn’t the same. The time after her mother’s death was a bleak one, with her tribe struggling and all the men leaving for war. She wanted to help in bigger ways, but being just a small child at that time and barely a waterbender left her few options.

Over time she began to learn to live without her mother, knowing she would never return, and she slowly started to find a new normal. With her father out in the war, Katara found solace in her brother and grandmother, and slowly started to see the brightness of each new day. One morning, Sokka was working on a makeshift spear and was carving it to sharpness and inadvertently set small pieces of wood flying in her direction. Katara barely noticed and thought nothing of it until one of the children of the tribe pointed it out and attempted to pull one out of her hair. In the young boy’s efforts, he accidentally made a tear on the band of her mother’s necklace. She felt the pull and caught it in time, but the damage had already been done.

It was a small tear, but it was enough to push through the slowly healing scars that were still tender. Katara lashed out on the poor child and ran to her grandmother. She was able to mend the necklace, but that wasn’t what needed the most fixing. After calming down, Katara brought herself to go to the spot that her and her mother used to sit in together to watch the stars. 

It had only been a few years since the loss of her mother, and Katara was finally able to bring herself to stare at the stars once more and felt just as at home and safe as she felt when she would sit there with her mother all that time ago. She felt like a completely different person. No longer the helpless scared little girl. Never knowing a life outside of the southern water tribe, Katara made the best with the life she had been given. Without her mother, she stepped up and took on the role her mother had once filled in her life. Although sad to lose the carefree childhood she once had, the responsibility gave her a sense of strength, knowing that she could take care of herself and others and not be entirely dependent on another.

That night, Katara felt her mother’s presence and she felt more secure and safe than ever. In her mind, she secretly named her favorite star Kya, in hopes that it would feel like her mother was still there, watching the stars with her. That star became her confidante, under the light of her mother, she spoke to herself at night to vent out her feelings of sadness and frustration and happiness.

_ “Hi mom. I don’t know if you’re out there or not. But I hope you can hear me. I just want to say that I miss you so much. Life has changed so much since you were last here, and even though it’s great that we’ve learned to adapt to all the changes here without you, it still feels sort of bittersweet because I don’t want to live a life without you. I don’t want everything to become normal and fine because it’s not fine without you here. And I know that it’s selfish for me to wish to go back when everyone else is doing better, but without you, I’ve lost so much of my childhood and life. Shouldn’t I be allowed to be selfish for just a bit?” _

After that night, Katara would update her mother on everything that happens in day to day life. She didn’t want to forget her life with her mother, so she tried her best to keep her with her for every day of her life.

She always felt a special connection to her mother’s star. Much like the push and pull of the moon, Katara felt a pull towards the star. Her greatest desire was to travel and follow it and see where it leads, but she always sidelined that for the sake of the more important things in her life.

When Katara found the avatar with her brother, she took the opportunity to travel the world with him and hopefully find what her star could lead her to. However she never prioritized it for Aang’s journey was far more important. Flying on Appa, she felt more close to the sky than ever, yet the stars appeared to be no bigger than they had on the ground. Sort of unattainable, much like her dream of following it.

While setting up camp one night, Katara took a break to stare at the night sky and feel her mother’s support and security. She looked up at the stars and found herself lost in thought until Aang interrupted her from her trance.

“What are you thinking about Katara?” the young airbender asked her. 

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Katara brushed it off and continued to unpack her sleeping bag. But Aang persisted.

“I’m sure it wasn’t nothing, there must be something important.” Although he didn’t say it, the young avatar noticed the way her eyes lit up whenever she looked up at the night sky. He was sure she didn’t return his feelings, but Aang’s infatuation for her made him want to see Katara happy in whatever way he could.

While hesitant, Katara explained what she and her mother used to do. “You see that one over there?” she pointed at a place in the sky. “That’s one of the brightest stars I’ve seen, and every time I look at it, it reminds me of my mom.” 

Admittedly, Aang couldn’t see the star she was referring to. “Sorry Katara, where is it?” He asked.

“It’s right over there don’t you see?” Katara couldn’t see how anyone could miss the brightest star in the sky.

And while he looked for it, Sokka appeared to finish unpacking and joined them. “I don’t know Katara, maybe this is just a girl thing and me and Aang’s manly eyes just aren’t feminine enough to see it.” Sokka concluded.

“Ugh, nevermind Sokka we get it you’re so manly.” Katara replied before begrudgingly grabbing her sleeping bag and going to sleep.

Over the course of their journeys, Katara always kept an eye out for her star whenever she felt any self doubt or fear.

She never had a chance to follow it until she, Toph, Sokka, and Aang were all stranded in the Si Wong Desert. With the loss of Appa and the whole group falling apart, she was only able to find solace in her mother’s star. Although not telling the rest of the group her motives out of fear that they’d doubt her, Katara led the group towards the star in the hopes that it could lead to something that can save them.


End file.
